Global economic confidence is rapidly unravelling as
corporate profits shrink and successive data releases reveal a
deteriorating outlook for growth, rivalling inflation as the
principal risk for investors.

On Friday the U.S. jobless rate hit its highest level in
four years during July as employers cut non-farm jobs for a
seventh straight month. Euro zone factories put in their worst
performance in over five years in July, with stuttering
industrial growth contrasting yet again with news of sharp
revisions up to prices charged at the factory gate.

The deterioration in the growth outlook comes as
expectations for inflation stay high, according to the latest
Reuters survey of opinions on the outlook for G7 economies.

To see a selection of stories on the subjects of recession
and inflation risks, click on the codes in brackets below.

LATEST DATA
1/8 US jobless rate highest in 4 yrs,payrolls drop[ID:nN01429062]
1/8 U.S. manufacturing activity flat in July - ISM[ID:nN01457643]
1/8 Eurozone factory activity at 5-yr low,prices up[ID:nL1454463]
1/8 German June retail sales fall adds to gloom [ID:nL1261905]
1/8 Spain's dire manufacturing PMI slips further [ID:nL9212541]
1/8 Credit squeeze boosts UK firms' liquidations [ID:nL1127485]
1/8 UK July factory activity shrinks, prices surge [ID:nL1084900]
1/8 Japan's new econ min warns of economic downturn [ID:nT244622]
1/8 Spain corp defaults soar 172% as boom collapse [ID:nL1325744]
1/8 China makes growth a priority as economy slows[ID:nPEK188899]
1/8 China's July official PMI at historic low [ID:nPEK202380]
31/7 US GDP up a bit on stimulus,jobless claims up[ID:nN31399964]
31/7 US Jul Midwest business unexpectedly stronger[ID:nN31471221]
31/7 Euro zone July inflation hits record of 4.1% [ID:nL1483899]
31/7 UK housing, consumer downturn flags recession [ID:nL1418840]
31/7 Japan manufacturing weakness flags downturn [ID:nT151458]
30/7 Euro zone business morale sinks, outlook grim [ID:nL0708216]
30/7 Japan factory output shrinks, GDP may follow [ID:nT109265]
30/7 US mortgage applications slowest since 2000 [ID:nN29380214]
30/7 Spanish retail sales suffer record fall [ID:nL0632469]
29/7 US home prices fell at record pace in May-S&P[ID:nN29315536]
29/7 US July consumer confidence up from 16-yr low[ID:nN29511811]
29/7 UK mortgage approvals hit record low in June [ID:nL9210791]
29/7 French consumer conf at low, industry gloomy [ID:nL9182545]
29/7 UK retail sales post record fall in July-CBI [ID:nL9233788]
24/7 German IFO index in sharpest drop since 9/11 [ID:nL24100806]

CORPORATE COMMENTS
1/8 GM posts $15.5 billion loss, as sales sputter [ID:nN01288721]
1/8 BA profit collapses on dire trading environment[ID:nL1628030]
1/8 Car industry gloom descends on GM, BMW, Nissan [ID:nL1664534]
31/7 Deutsche Bank writedowns swell beyond $11 bln [ID:nL1667925]
31/7 HBOS profit hit by writedown, may sell assets [ID:nL1410731]
30/7 Lloyds TSB profit dives 70%, sees bad debts up[ID:nL0580177]
30/7 Daiwa posts 78.5% drop in quarterly net profit [ID:nT310836]
30/7 Michelin H1 profits fall, cuts 2008 forecast [ID:nL0534343]
29/7 Merrill to sell $8.5bn stock after write-down[ID:nN28254377]
29/7 Europe chem firms warn of rising input prices [ID:nL9147639]
24/7 Ford posts $8.7-bln loss on truck slump [ID:nN24301386]
24/7 Renault '09 sales target cut, jobs at risk [ID:nL24625035]

POLICYMAKER COMMENTS AND ACTIONS
31/7 Central banks fire new round at credit crisis[ID:nN30471471]
31/7 US economy to underperform through mid-09-IMF[ID:nN30372623]
28/7 Inflat pressures complicate turmoil-IMF [ID:nN28413884]
25/7 China say seeks to balance growth, inflation [ID:nPEK297796]
23/7 Fed says price pressures gain, growth slows [ID:nN23449590]
22/7 U.S. Fed policymakers' recent comments [ID:nN22316176]
22/7 ECB policymakers' recent rate comments [ID:nECBQUOTES]
18/7 Recent Swiss National Bank policymaker views [ID:nSNBQUOTES]
21/7 BOE's Blanchflower-UK 'going into recession [ID:nN20348513]
21/7 German finance ministry writes off Q2 GDP [ID:nL21876224]

LATEST POLLS
31/7 ECB to up rates if inflation worsens-sources [ID:nLAE000176]
31/7 POLL-BOE to leave UK rates at 5.0% til early 09[ID:nL041816]
31/7 Investors reduce equities in search of safety [ID:nL1513489]
31/7 Reuters July Asset Allocation Polls [ID:nL1669733]
23/7 G7 outlook takes fresh hit from credit crunch[ID:nL23428380]
17/7 Credit crunch to sting well into next year [ID:nLAG003000]
16/7 Confidence drops in U.S. economic policy [ID:nN15315048]
16/7 Funds most negative on equities in 10 years [ID:nL16762108]

ANALYSIS
1/7 Soaring repo rates show ongoing banking stress [ID:nL1487468]
3//7 Credit mkt far from tossing away its crutches[ID:nN30547766]
29/7 Merrill sparks fears bank crisis cost to soar[ID:nN29333243]
29/7 Banks take heart from efforts to calm mkts [ID:nL23937127]
29/7 London still calling through credit clamour [ID:nL8724796]
21/7 Credit seen drying up for U.S. small firms [ID:nN20368210]
16/7 German industry tools up for global slowdown [ID:nL16308504]
11/7 Short of recession, Europe risks stagnation [ID:nL11549212]
11/7 Recession risk grows in Britain [ID:nL09314179]
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